Rachmaninov - Piano Concertos 1 & 4; Paganini Rhapsody - Pennario; Previn; Kapell; Reiner

Rachmaninov - Piano Concertos 1 & 4; Paganini Rhapsody - Pennario; Previn; Kapell; Reiner



Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1 - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 - Leonard Pennario, Piano / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Andre Previn - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 - William Kapell, Piano / Robin Hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia / Fritz Reiner





From the notes for this beautiful 1965 LP (RCA) from pianist Leonard Pennario and conductor Andre Previn:



"Leonard Pennario, whose illustrious career is already past the twenty-five-year mark of universal acclaim as soloist, recitalist and chamber music performer, has long been an enthusiast of Rachmaninoff's First and Fourth Concertos. He feels that these works have been unduly neglected in favor of the Second and Third, and it was therefore with a great deal of zest that he undertook the present recordings."



And for those perhaps unfamiliar with it (or those curious to know what this particular "original" might sound like), here is a recording featured in the much-publicized edition of the complete recordings of William Kapell (which has appeared, at long last, after decades of neglect).



As hinted above, this transfer of the ten-inch LP of Kapell's famous 1951 recording of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Fritz Reiner is also intended as a kind of "UN-remastered" documentation revealing approximately how this recording sounds originally. For this reason no equalization has been used - only click and scratch removal together with noise reduction. And indeed, it does turn out to be a good-sounding recording if one only puts it on one's turntable and plays it - as most of Reiner's recordings were, in fact, to begin with.



LP transfers from material issued 1965; 1951 (RCA).



Original covers and notes included. (The well-written notes by Quaintance Eaton for the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini begin by drawing on a personal encounter the author had with Rachmaninov in the summer of 1931.)